مقاله سال ۲۰۱۷

The economic and financial crisis which started in 2008 was global in nature, but it particularly affected Europe (OECD, 2012). The crisis reached its peak in 2009, with negative changes in real GDP approaching −۳% in the United States; −۳٫۵% for OECD countries, and up to −۴٫۵% in the Euro Area (OECD, 2016). From 2010 onwards, a gradual improvement took place with positive real GDP growth, but it deteriorated again in 2012 and 2013. Belgium, a small open economy in Western Europe, followed this trend with a negative real GDP growth of 2.4% in 2009, growth rates of 2.7% and 1.8% in 2010 and 2011 respectively, and stagnating (approaching 0% change) real GDP in 2012 and 2013 (OECD, 2016). This paper focuses on R&D-active firms in Belgium and links configurations of firm-level strategic decisions made in R&D in the year 2009 with the financial performance of firms in the period 2010–۲۰۱۳٫ In debate regarding the relationship between R&D and the financial performance of firms, the empirical literature is inconclusive concerning the role of firm size and time-lags between R&D inputs andfinancialoutputs (see e.g.Kostopoulos,Papalexandris,Papachroni, & Ioannou, 2011). This paper addresses these issues by differentiating between small-sized and medium-sized firms and by including time-lags ranging from one to four years.

Venkatraman and Ramanujam (1986) refer to the multidimensional construct of firm performance including business performance, E-mail address: peter.teirlinck@kuleuven.be (P. Teirlinck). organizational effectiveness, and financial performance. Business performance measures market-related items including market share, growth, diversification and product development. It is a mixture of growth in existing business and future positioning in terms of new product development and diversification. Organizational effectiveness considers stakeholders and refers to quality and social responsibility. Financial performance is at the core of organizational effectiveness and is a necessary condition to define overall effectiveness (Bacidore, Boquist, Milbourn, & Thakor, 1997). Insights into the relationship between R&D and firm performance are limited and the results remain contradictory (Cañibano, Garcia-Ayuso, & Sanchez, 2000; Sundaram, John, & John, 1996) and depend on the time-frame under consideration (Latham & Braun, 2009). However, a positive link between innovation and financial performance can be expected for at least three reasons. First, firms responding to customer demands and impulsive consumer preferences are more likely to attain higher levels of sales and firm growth (Srinivasan, Pauwels, Silva-Risso, & Hanssens, 2009). Second, continuous innovation can yield indirect benefits in terms of being able to recognize and acquire new knowledge, with potentially new innovations leading again to financial benefits (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990). And third, the penetration of segments with high financial margins can allow the offsetting of potential costs relating to targeting and attracting new customers (Bayus, Erickson, & Jacobson, 2003).

The paper investigates what sets or combinations of strategic R&D decisions during a financially and economically turbulent period can be associated with successful outcomes in terms of the firm’s future financial performance. It adds to the existing literature in three ways. First, attention is paid to shortcomings in the measurement of financial performance. Klingenberg, Timberlake, Geurts, and Brown (2013) question the appropriateness of return on assets (ROA), return on sales (ROS) or return on equity (ROE) — the most popular indicators used to measure financial success in terms of current profitability — to determine the link between research and the firm’s financial performance. Lome, Heggeseth, and Moen (2016) use revenue growth and measure this for different time-lags over the period 2004–۲۰۰۹٫ In line with Fosfuri and Tribó (۲۰۰۸) and Lome et al. (2016) I use time-lagged financial indicators drawn from a separate database and an alternative measurement for financial performance is proposed based on simple intuitive models (Ooghe & Van Wymeersch, 2008). These ratios make use of four basic elements of financial health (liquidity, solvency, profitability, and value added), offer a more balanced measurement of the firm’s financial position, and are largely available.